Lakers plan to play Russell Westbrook, Patrick Beverley in the same lineup. What could go wrong?
File this one under things I legitimately did not see coming last season: Russell Westbrook and Patrick Beverley could appear in the same lineup.
For a detailed history of the beef between Westbrook and Beverley, my colleague Mike Sykes has you covered. But to summarize what Sykes told you last week, these two players do not like each other very much.
While many assumed that Beverley’s acquisition suggested that the Lakers were likely to move on from Westbrook, that may not actually be the case. In fact, shocking though it may be, there is even a legitimate chance that we see the two guards on the floor playing alongside one another.
“Russell Westbrook and Patrick Beverley have already been in contact since becoming Lakers teammates, league sources tell me, and new coach Darvin Ham has told them he has lineups in mind to play Russ and PatBev side-by-side.”
I’ll just say this: I’ll believe that happens when I actually see it.
It still seems like the most likely scenario is that the Lakers move Westbrook before the season begins, and if they cannot find a suitor, I would not be at all surprised if they ask him to stay home (as the Rockets did with John Wall last season).
But if this does happen, basketball fans can potentially expect chaos.